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Alijah,

I know we have not talked much. Lord knows I haven’t been around much as an uncle and there isn’t much I can do to rectify that. By the time this letter reaches you, then it means I am already dead. Time comes for us all in the end. There isn’t much time for me to explain things, but I implore you to listen. All that I own, I leave to you. You will find attached to this letter is a contact number for my lawyer. He can handle the passing on of my property to you. I have also instructed him to give you a package. I have no doubt that you will be able to figure out its riddle, you’ve always had a creative mind....

I know that you hold no obligations to me. And I have no right to ask anything of you. But I pray that you will hear out this old man’s wish. The road ahead will be a challenge and a journey far beyond anything you could have dreamed off, should you choose to accept it. But if you do, then I can rest easier. Be strong, Alijah…

Sincerely,

Uncle Simon

Folding the letter carefully, Alijah placed it on what was once his Uncle’s study table. He rested his back against the old armchair and looked around at his inherited property. The house was spacious enough, his uncle’s study itself could house an entire family. Yet his uncle never married, a thought which Alijah had more than once. His father always mentioned to Alijah how his uncle Simon was akin to a hermit, living in a large house by himself out in the borderland.

With a sigh, Alijah contemplated on this strange turn of events. Just a month ago, he had been a jobless college dropout. Burned out from a course he really didn’t like, on top of a girlfriend that cheated on him the entire time that he was struggling through classes and mental stress. Alijah laughed bitterly at the thought of how his life sounded like some trashy love story. He had been adrift and meandered through the past few weeks without any real plan of what to do next.
That’s when the letter came in, along with his Uncle’s cryptic words. Without any real direction to go next, he had decided to accept his Uncle’s offer.

He contacted Simon’s lawyer, and after all the papers were signed and documents filed, the lawyer left, but not before leaving a wrapped package. The same package that his uncle mentioned and was now sitting on the table in front of him. He had been hesitant to open it, as though he knew something would change once it was opened. Staring at it for hours while rereading his uncle’s letter, Alijah had been building up the courage to open it. With another sigh, Alijah leaned forward and started to unwrap it. It took a minute to peel away the layers of paper, but once it was done, Alijah stared curiously at the object before him. Tentatively, he lifted it from the scraps of paper and held it in his hand.

It was a strange orb with intricate mechanical design. Alijah ran his hand over its lacquered surface and marveled at the smoothness of it. Turning it over and out, he studied the curious patterns along its surface. He found himself pressing a certain part of the orb, only for a mechanical whirring sound to be heard. Slightly startled, Alijah watched as a piece protruded from the orb.

Realization dawned on him as Alijah stared at the orb. It was a puzzle of some kind.

“You’ve always had a creative mind,” his uncle’s words came back to him. With growing resolve, Alijah began to work on unlocking the orb’s puzzle.

Time passed and Alijah worked to unravel the puzzle. The steady tick of his late uncle’s grandfather clock was his companion, working to the tempo of its sound. Trial and error, but as minutes turned to hours, the orb started to unravel, reforming into a different shape. After what seemed an eternity, Alijah pressed on a piece of the puzzle orb and with a click a new shape was in his hand. Alijah drew in the puzzle and marveled at its new cube-like shape. He stared at it once more, before wondering as to what he should do next.

That choice however was taken from him when a sudden splitting headache assaulted Alijah. He doubled over, falling from the chair as he gripped at the sides of his head, crying out from the pain. His visions started to darken and as the pain became more and more unbearable, Alijah heard the sound of distant tides. With one merciful act, his consciousness departed from him and he succumbed to the darkness….

Only to wake up underwater…

Alijah panicked and gulped in water before instincts kicked in and he kicked his feet and waded his arms in a mad rush towards the surface. Breaking through the surface, Alijah gulped in the air and started to cough. He inhaled deeply and managed to crawl on all fours. After a lengthy moment of breathing in air, an odd sensation struck Alijah, as though something was off. Another moment passed before he realized what it was. He was resting on the water’s surface. It was as though the water had become a transparent floor as he found himself slowly rising to his feet. He looked around him in disbelief. He was no longer in his Uncle’s study and instead stood upon a scene that seemed as though it was taken right out of a dream.

“Be not afraid”

It was a gripping sound, like a storm being given a voice. It commanded authority while at the same time retaining a certain calmness to it.

Alijah turned slowly towards the voice and found himself gazing upwards, til the owner of said voice was revealed to him. And he stood in awestruck silence.

A towering form, adorned in gold and bronze. Wings as though harnessed and given form from light itself. High in the air it gazed down at him, and Alijah felt as though his soul was laid bare to it. An unknown amount of time passed before Alijah found the courage to speak, and even when he did, it was with unsure stutter.

“W-w-Where am I? Wha- Who are you? What is this place?” The questions flowed out of him like a madman’s ramble. It was silenced however by the entity that floated above him.

“I am the First act
Conceived at age’s dawn
Established before the worlds’ cornerstones
The first to rejoice
As Creation took shape”

Fear and reverence gripped Alijah as the entity spoke, like a peasant before a reigning monarch.

“What do you want from me?” Alijah whispered.

Even with his quiet voice, the entity heard him.

“A task and a burden
A responsibility amongst others
Son of Man
Will you inherit the very order of creation
Or destroy it?”

As the last line was spoken, Alijah felt images flood his mind, and there and then, his eyes were opened. Visions of a bright spark, as the stars raced through the skies. Images of churning water as they settled upon their thresholds as did the sky and land and the space above. The sensation of dread and flame as a cataclysmic war was waged and the enemy was cast down and bound. A sense of duty to fulfill, to stand guard in an eternal vigil. A sliver of darkness breaking forth and slipping into reality.

The visions ended abruptly, just as they had begun. Alijah gasped for air and slowly, the memories settled in his mind. A passing moment before he steadied himself once more. Again, he looked up to the entity.

“Give me an answer”

Alijah recalled his uncle’s words.

The road ahead will be a challenge and a journey far beyond anything you could have dreamed off, should you choose to accept it.

The visions terrified him and he should have cowered and fled…. Yet there was a burning sensation in him, a sensation he would describe as mounting resolve. Perhaps he should flee, but this….. This was bigger than him…. Bigger than mankind and the world itself… To deny this task was to forfeit creation…

“This duty and all that it entails…. I accept.” Alijah found himself answering

The entity tilted its head and for a moment, Alijah could have sworn he saw what resembled a smile.

“Then let this covenant be made. Now wake, and go forth...”

The water’s surface gave way beneath him and Alijah fell once more. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself on the floor of his uncle’s study. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and shielded his eyes from the daylight that shone through the window. It seemed that he had been gone throughout the night.

His eyes drifted to the table where the puzzle should have been, but found it gone. For a moment he wondered where it went, til he saw a strange mark on his left hand, where none had been before. He moved his hand and as he flexed his fingers, he could hear the sound of mechanical parts whirring.

A covenant has been made.

Description

Alijah,

I know we have not talked much. Lord knows I haven’t been around much as an uncle and there isn’t much I can do to rectify that. By the time this letter reaches you, then it means I am already dead. Time comes for us all in the end. There isn’t much time for me to explain things, but I implore you to listen. All that I own, I leave to you. You will find attached to this letter is a contact number for my lawyer. He can handle the passing on of my property to you. I have also instructed him to give you a package. I have no doubt that you will be able to figure out its riddle, you’ve always had a creative mind....

I know that you hold no obligations to me. And I have no right to ask anything of you. But I pray that you will hear out this old man’s wish. The road ahead will be a challenge and a journey far beyond anything you could have dreamed off, should you choose to accept it. But if you do, then I can rest easier. Be strong, Alijah…

Sincerely,

Uncle Simon

Folding the letter carefully, Alijah placed it on what was once his Uncle’s study table. He rested his back against the old armchair and looked around at his inherited property. The house was spacious enough, his uncle’s study itself could house an entire family. Yet his uncle never married, a thought which Alijah had more than once. His father always mentioned to Alijah how his uncle Simon was akin to a hermit, living in a large house by himself out in the borderland.

With a sigh, Alijah contemplated on this strange turn of events. Just a month ago, he had been a jobless college dropout. Burned out from a course he really didn’t like, on top of a girlfriend that cheated on him the entire time that he was struggling through classes and mental stress. Alijah laughed bitterly at the thought of how his life sounded like some trashy love story. He had been adrift and meandered through the past few weeks without any real plan of what to do next.
That’s when the letter came in, along with his Uncle’s cryptic words. Without any real direction to go next, he had decided to accept his Uncle’s offer.

He contacted Simon’s lawyer, and after all the papers were signed and documents filed, the lawyer left, but not before leaving a wrapped package. The same package that his uncle mentioned and was now sitting on the table in front of him. He had been hesitant to open it, as though he knew something would change once it was opened. Staring at it for hours while rereading his uncle’s letter, Alijah had been building up the courage to open it. With another sigh, Alijah leaned forward and started to unwrap it. It took a minute to peel away the layers of paper, but once it was done, Alijah stared curiously at the object before him. Tentatively, he lifted it from the scraps of paper and held it in his hand.

It was a strange orb with intricate mechanical design. Alijah ran his hand over its lacquered surface and marveled at the smoothness of it. Turning it over and out, he studied the curious patterns along its surface. He found himself pressing a certain part of the orb, only for a mechanical whirring sound to be heard. Slightly startled, Alijah watched as a piece protruded from the orb.

Realization dawned on him as Alijah stared at the orb. It was a puzzle of some kind.

“You’ve always had a creative mind,” his uncle’s words came back to him. With growing resolve, Alijah began to work on unlocking the orb’s puzzle.

Time passed and Alijah worked to unravel the puzzle. The steady tick of his late uncle’s grandfather clock was his companion, working to the tempo of its sound. Trial and error, but as minutes turned to hours, the orb started to unravel, reforming into a different shape. After what seemed an eternity, Alijah pressed on a piece of the puzzle orb and with a click a new shape was in his hand. Alijah drew in the puzzle and marveled at its new cube-like shape. He stared at it once more, before wondering as to what he should do next.

That choice however was taken from him when a sudden splitting headache assaulted Alijah. He doubled over, falling from the chair as he gripped at the sides of his head, crying out from the pain. His visions started to darken and as the pain became more and more unbearable, Alijah heard the sound of distant tides. With one merciful act, his consciousness departed from him and he succumbed to the darkness….

Only to wake up underwater…

Alijah panicked and gulped in water before instincts kicked in and he kicked his feet and waded his arms in a mad rush towards the surface. Breaking through the surface, Alijah gulped in the air and started to cough. He inhaled deeply and managed to crawl on all fours. After a lengthy moment of breathing in air, an odd sensation struck Alijah, as though something was off. Another moment passed before he realized what it was. He was resting on the water’s surface. It was as though the water had become a transparent floor as he found himself slowly rising to his feet. He looked around him in disbelief. He was no longer in his Uncle’s study and instead stood upon a scene that seemed as though it was taken right out of a dream.

“Be not afraid”

It was a gripping sound, like a storm being given a voice. It commanded authority while at the same time retaining a certain calmness to it.

Alijah turned slowly towards the voice and found himself gazing upwards, til the owner of said voice was revealed to him. And he stood in awestruck silence.

A towering form, adorned in gold and bronze. Wings as though harnessed and given form from light itself. High in the air it gazed down at him, and Alijah felt as though his soul was laid bare to it. An unknown amount of time passed before Alijah found the courage to speak, and even when he did, it was with unsure stutter.

“W-w-Where am I? Wha- Who are you? What is this place?” The questions flowed out of him like a madman’s ramble. It was silenced however by the entity that floated above him.

“I am the First act
Conceived at age’s dawn
Established before the worlds’ cornerstones
The first to rejoice
As Creation took shape”

Fear and reverence gripped Alijah as the entity spoke, like a peasant before a reigning monarch.

“What do you want from me?” Alijah whispered.

Even with his quiet voice, the entity heard him.

“A task and a burden
A responsibility amongst others
Son of Man
Will you inherit the very order of creation
Or destroy it?”

As the last line was spoken, Alijah felt images flood his mind, and there and then, his eyes were opened. Visions of a bright spark, as the stars raced through the skies. Images of churning water as they settled upon their thresholds as did the sky and land and the space above. The sensation of dread and flame as a cataclysmic war was waged and the enemy was cast down and bound. A sense of duty to fulfill, to stand guard in an eternal vigil. A sliver of darkness breaking forth and slipping into reality.

The visions ended abruptly, just as they had begun. Alijah gasped for air and slowly, the memories settled in his mind. A passing moment before he steadied himself once more. Again, he looked up to the entity.

“Give me an answer”

Alijah recalled his uncle’s words.

The road ahead will be a challenge and a journey far beyond anything you could have dreamed off, should you choose to accept it.

The visions terrified him and he should have cowered and fled…. Yet there was a burning sensation in him, a sensation he would describe as mounting resolve. Perhaps he should flee, but this….. This was bigger than him…. Bigger than mankind and the world itself… To deny this task was to forfeit creation…

“This duty and all that it entails…. I accept.” Alijah found himself answering

The entity tilted its head and for a moment, Alijah could have sworn he saw what resembled a smile.

“Then let this covenant be made. Now wake, and go forth...”

The water’s surface gave way beneath him and Alijah fell once more. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself on the floor of his uncle’s study. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and shielded his eyes from the daylight that shone through the window. It seemed that he had been gone throughout the night.

His eyes drifted to the table where the puzzle should have been, but found it gone. For a moment he wondered where it went, til he saw a strange mark on his left hand, where none had been before. He moved his hand and as he flexed his fingers, he could hear the sound of mechanical parts whirring.

A covenant has been made.